February 2026 is a milestone month for Modern Chess Academy. Alongside our established training pillars, we introduce a new long-term project that reshapes how openings are studied and built: Repertoire Builder.
This month is about foundations — structural understanding in the opening, clarity in the middlegame, resilience in defense, and deepening pawn-play mastery — all within a single, coherent training ecosystem.
Coach: Grigor Grigorov
Dates: 17.02.2026 and 24.02.2026
Repertoire Builder is a six-month opening project designed for players who want understanding before memorization.
February marks the starting point. We begin with the most classical response to 1.Nf3 and focus on Réti- and Catalan-type structures arising after 1.Nf3 d5 2.g3. The emphasis is on central tension, piece coordination, and long-term plans, not on heavy theoretical branches.
Theory is kept intentionally light — only what is necessary to reach the right structures. The goal is to enter the middlegame with clarity, knowing what the position demands and why certain plans work.
Program Schedule
17.02.2026 – Paris | New York
🕒 17:30 – 19:00 | 11:30 – 13:00 – Fundamental Structures – Part 1
🕒 19:30 – 21:00 | 13:30 – 15:00 – Fundamental Structures – Part 2
24.02.2026 – Paris | New York
🕒 17:30 – 19:00 | 11:30 – 13:00 – Fundamental Structures – Part 3
🕒 19:30 – 21:00 | 13:30 – 15:00 – Fundamental Structures – Part 4
🕒 21:00 – 21:30 | 15:00 – 15:30 – Q&A Session
This camp sets the philosophical and structural base for the full Repertoire Builder journey that continues through July.
Coach: Ioannis Papaioannou
Dates: 18.02.2026 and 25.02.2026
February’s Strategy Wednesday focuses on one of the most misunderstood structural imbalances in chess: doubled pawns. GM Papaioannou shows how these structures shape plans, piece coordination, and long-term decision-making when transitioning from the opening into the middlegame.
Coach: Swapnil Dhopade
Dates: 19.02.2026 and 26.02.2026
This edition of Tactical Thursday addresses one of the most critical practical skills: defending under pressure. GM Dhopade demonstrates how strong players survive difficult positions by actively searching for options, counterplay, and defensive resources before committing to calculation.
Coach: Siegfried Baumegger
February continues the pawn-play journey with a second, deeper thematic block.
• 06.02. – Blockading Strategy
• 13.02. – Attacking the Enemy King with Pawns
• 20.02. – Defending Against a Pawn Storm
• 27.02. – Making Effective Use of Rook Pawns
• 03.03. – Video Lessons Release
Participants receive weekly training positions, in-depth explanations, video summaries, and a final annotated PGN collection.
Coach: Ivan Cheparinov
A key pillar of the Academy continues unchanged.
Opening Radar delivers cutting-edge opening analysis, modern trends, and clear practical guidance based on elite-level practice.
Format
• Video-based theoretical overview
• Model games and key novelties
• Answers to member-submitted questions
Submit your opening questions to
academy@modern-chess.com
Coach: Ioannis Papaioannou
The interactive monthly project continues.
Inside Your Games places your own games at the center of the learning process. GM Papaioannou selects 15 anonymized games submitted by Academy members and analyzes them in depth, highlighting typical thinking errors across rating levels.
Submission guidelines
• Members with an active February membership may submit up to 2 PGN games
• Send games to academy@modern-chess.com
• Submission deadline: February 2026 (date announced separately)
Publication includes
• 15 deeply analyzed games
• Test positions from real mistakes
• Summary lessons by GM Papaioannou
Free access for all Academy members.
The Mentorship Program continues with the same personalized, long-term development structure.
How it works
• Fill out the mentorship form
• Submit 20 recent games
• Get assigned a mentor
• 30-minute kickoff session
• Monthly 30-minute follow-ups
• Continuous progress tracking
• Live GM-led lectures every Wednesday and Thursday
• Weekly structured training via Guided Practice
• Modern opening insights through Opening Radar
• Personalized improvement via the Mentorship Program
• Inside Your Games – learn from real mistakes by real players
• Full access to recordings, PGNs, and digital products
• A complete, professional training system built for long-term growth
February 2026 is not just another month. It is the starting point of Repertoire Builder, integrated into a complete improvement system designed for players who value clarity, structure, and long-term progress.
This is chess training — the Modern Chess way.